What it is
UC San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFPDH) and San Mateo County Health (SMC Health) are partnering to conduct a multi-year study of Long COVID. The medical term for Long COVID is post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, abbreviated as PASC. The project has two distinct phases.About Long COVID
Long COVID refers to both physical and mental health symptoms that endure long after an initial COVID infection. These symptoms may begin around the time people initially get COVID or may not appear until weeks or months afterwards.The most common Long COVID symptoms are:
- Fatigue
- Mood Changes
- Difficulty Concentrating
- Headaches
- Coughing
- Shortness of breath
- Extreme tiredness
- Racing heart
- Chest pain
- Stomach pain
- Nausea or diarrhea
- Blood pressure issues
- Poor appetite
- Muscle aches
- Joint pain
- Poor sleep
- Loss of taste and/or smell
We don’t know yet how common Long COVID is or how often people experience severe symptoms. There are also no known proven ways to prevent Long COVID or treat it. In response to these uncertainties, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has invested $1.21B in a nationwide study of Long COVID, which they describe as an “unseen public health crisis.” The local study by UCSF is part of that effort. There are 15 research teams throughout the country conducting studies of Long COVID in adults for the NIH.
Phase I: Contacting Community Residents Who Have Had COVID
- UCSF is partnering with SFDPH, SMC Health and several community-based organizations (CBOs) to learn about the health experiences that local residents have had after contracting COVID.
- This program is called Let’s Figure out Long Covid — Tell Us Your Story Bay Area.
- The goal of community engagement is to learn how common and severe Long COVID is among local residents. Scientists refer to this as the prevalence and burden of Long COVID.
- Qualified representatives from the departments of health and CBOs will call approximately two thousand adult residents who had COVID at least three months earlier. They hope to speak with people regardless of their current health status. That includes people with lingering health problems in the aftermath of COVID, people who feel fully recovered, and people in between. Residents will be asked about their health since the time they contracted COVID in a short interview (10 to 15 minutes).
- It’s essential for people to speak with researchers who call so scientists can assess the prevalence of Long COVID in San Francisco and San Mateo counties. People will not be able to volunteer their information for the study without first being contacted by researchers.
- Those in Black/African American, Latino, Pacific Islander, and Native American communities have experienced higher-than-average rates of COVID infections, hospitalizations and deaths. It’s especially important for people in these groups to participate so medical experts and policy makers will have an accurate assessment of local Long COVID cases. That information may be used to guide future public health and economic recovery resources.
- The list of CBOs that are partnering with UCSF, SFPDH and SMC Health to engage with local communities is still expanding. Current CBO partners include: Bay Area Community Health Advisory Council, Bayview Hunters Point Community Advocates, Rafiki Coalition for Health and Wellness, San Francisco Latino Task Force
- Long COVID can impact entire communities. The combined efforts of UCSF, local county health departments and CBOs are designed to help us understand the extent of Long COVID in our communities. This assessment may guide the allocation of future public health and economic recovery resources.
Phase II: Multi-Year Study of Long COVID
- Some community members who are interviewed during Phase 1 will be invited later to join a multi-year research study conducted by a team of doctors and epidemiologists at the UCSF Medical Center.
- Called RECOVER, (Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery), the nationwide study aims to figure out how common Long Covid is and what causes it, which will lead to treatments and ways to prevent it.
- Those chosen to participate will be at least 18 years or older, live in San Mateo or San Francisco counties, and will have had COVID at least three months earlier.
- The long-term study will require people to attend several office visits per year (at convenient locations) and for two to three years. They will complete questionnaires about their health and provide blood samples. Some participants may need to have X-rays or other tests to assess their condition and/or progress.
- Participants in the multi-year study will be paid a small stipend for their time.
The team includes:
- Jeffrey Martin, MD, MPH; Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF School of Medicine
- Kim Rhoads, MD, MPH; Associate Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF School of Medicine
- Steven Deeks, MD; Professor, Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine
- Carina Marquez, MD; Associate Professor, Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine
- Michael Peluso, MD; Assistant Professor, Medicine; UCSF School of Medicine
- Priscilla Hsue, MD; Professor, Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine
- Dan Kelly, MD; Assistant Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF School of Medicine
- Wayne Enanoria, PhD, MPH; Assistant Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF School of Medicine; Director of Applied Research Community Health Epidemiology, & Surveillance at SFDPH
- Susan Buchbinder, MD; Clinical Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, UCSF; Director, HIV Research Section at SFDPH
- Susan Philip, MD, MPH; Health Officer for the City and County of San Francisco; Director of the Population Health Division of SFDPH; Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCSF
- Curtis Chan, MD; Deputy Health Officer, San Mateo County Health
- Karen Pfister, San Mateo County Health; Supervising Epidemiologist
- Beatrice Huang, Deputy Study Manager, UCSF
- Khamal Anglin, MPH; Program Manager, UCSF